Student Awards

Each year, several outstanding Biology students receive departmental awards of recognition. Following are the current and past award recipients.

Undergraduate Awards

Stephen Fox Award
This is awarded to the most outstanding undergraduate in Biology. The Stephen Fox Memorial Fund was established as a memorial to Stephen Fox, a Stanford student studying biology and music.
  • 2023- Theo Gress
  • 2022 - Tejas Athni
  • 2021 - Jiwoo Lee
  • 2020 - Sani Eskinazi and Rebecca Nelson
  • 2019 - Dylan MacArthur-Waltz
  • 2018 - Johannah Farner
  • 2017 - Samantha Hoffmane
  • 2016 - Taylor Daniel Skokan
  • 2015  - Candice Jeehae Kim
  • 2014 - Seth David Judson
  • 2013 - Allan Quang Phan
  • 2012 - Michael Hsiu Liu
Lauren D. Weinstein Award
Lauren D. Weinstein Award This is awarded to an outstanding undergraduate researcher or instructor who exhibits the dedication to life and science education exemplified by Lauren Weinstein, Class of '88.
  • 2021 - Rishabh Kapoor 
  • 2020 - Ashwin Reddy
  • 2017 - Nicolas Herrera Crosta
  • 2014 - Katherine Grace Nabel
  • 2012 - Jessica Chang
Angela Lee Undergraduate Research Award
This award recognizes the most outstanding poster presented at the annual Achauer Undergraduate Honors Symposium. It honors Dr. Angela Lee Riepel's dedication to undergraduates pursuing research and honors in biology.
  • 2023 - Amaris Lewis
  • 2022 - Vrinda Suresh
  • 2021 - Sarah Ludington 
  • 2020 - Spencer Robinson 
  • 2019 - Akshay Jaggi
  • 2018 - Alan Yinong Wei
  • 2017 - Melodyanne Cheng
  • 2016 - Lorenzo Gonzalez
  • 2015 - Laura Langdeau Cussen
  • 2014 - Michaela Isabelle Soriano
  • 2013 - Phi Nguyen Minh Luong
  • 2012 - Erica Nicole Silva
David M. Kennedy Prize
is awarded annually to the single best thesis in each of four academic areas: humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering & applied sciences.
  • 2019 - Natural Sciences: Sang Ngo, “Tumor Establishment Requires Tumor Autonomous and Non-autonomous Decoupling of EGF Signaling from Apoptosis,” Biology, advised by Lucy O’Brien (Molecular and Cellular Physiology)

  • 2017 - Natural Sciences: Ryan Badiee, Biology. Engineering Bidirectional Regulation of Endogenous Genes. Mentored by Michael Lin

  • 2016 - Natural sciences: Brian Do, “7SK RNA Regulates Gene Expression by Scaffolding Multiple Protein Complexes,” biology, advised by Howard Chang (dermatology) and Or Gozani (biology).

Firestone Medals for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
This is awarded to the top 10 percent of honors theses completed each year in the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.
  • Biology Recipients 2023
    • Grace Alchemy, "Mechanisms of Ferroptosis Evasion Promoted by Extracellular Metabolites." Mentored by Scott Dixon
    • Ailsa Rachel Craven, “Specific extrusion of Enterovirus-A71-infected cells from human colonoids and consequences for viral spread.” Mentored by Karla Kirkegaard
    • William Wang, “Identification of DNA Termini in Sequencing Data through Combined Analysis of End Capture and Local Strand Bias.” Mentored by Andrew Fire
  • Biology Recipients 2022
    • Stewart Kim, "Identification of a Myogenic and Highly Transplantable Tert Expressing Non-Satellite Stem Cell Population." Mentored by Steven Artandi
    • Miley Sinantha-Hu, "Proteomic Profiling of Purkinje Cell Surface Reveals the Critical Role of Armadillo-like helical domain containing protein 4 in Mammalian Dendrite Morphogenesis." Mentored by Liqun Luo
    • Julien Minoru Wright-Ueda, "Long-term avian responses to drought and urbanization in Northern California." Mentored by Rodolfo Dirzo
  • Biology Recipients 2021
    • Rishabh Kapoor, Biology. Evaluating the Influence of the Nuclear: Cytoplasmic Ratio in the Maternal to Zygotic Transition in Xenopus Embryos. Mentored by Jan Skotheim and Or Gozani
    • Saket Myneni, Biology. Identifying the mechanism of aged oligodendrocyte progenitor cell rejuvenation by young cerebrospinal fluid. Mentored by Tony Wyss-Coray and Susan McConnell 
    • Catherine Wang, Biology. Cell Surface Sialylation Modulates Neuronal Excitability and Network Integration. Mentored by Carolyn Bertozzi and Xiaoke Chen
  • Biology Recipients 2020
    • Sani Eskinazi, “A Centriole-less Pericentriolar Material,” Biology, advised by Jessica Feldman (Biology) and Tim Stearns (Biology).
    • Demetri Maxim, “A Novel 3-D Culture System for Modeling Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease,” Biology, advised by Vivek Bhalla (Medicine-Nephrology), Tim Stearns (Biology), and Jeffrey Axelrod (Pathology).
    • Spencer Robinson, “Investigating the Role of Tomato Plasma Membrane Protein RLK15 in Tomato Defense Responses to Bacterial Infection,” Biology, advised by Mary Beth Mudgett (Biology) and Jose Dinneny (Biology).
  • Biology Recipients 2019
    • Ricardo Guajardo, “Elucidating the Molecular Basis of Plexin B Level-Dependent Signaling in Neural Circuit Assembly,” Biology, advised by Liqun Luo (Biology)
    • Carson Poltorack, “Arginine Withdrawal Engages ATF4-Mediated Transsulfuration and Protects Cancer Cells from Oxidative Death,” Biology, advised by Scott Dixon (Biology)
    • Sang Ngo, “Tumor Establishment Requires Tumor Autonomous and Non-autonomous Decoupling of EGF Signaling from Apoptosis,” Biology, advised by Lucy O’Brien (Molecular and Cellular Physiology) 
  • Biology Recipients 2018
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Mireille Bejjani, Biology. Developing Sense of Place in USA Zoos: Effect of Featuring Local Versus Exotic Species. Mentored by Rodolfo Dirzo
    • Alan Wei, Biology. Neuronal Expression of the MHCI Qa-1 and Its Role in Activity-Dependent Plasticity. Mentored by Carla Shatz
    • Sophia Xiao, Biology. Role of CD47 in Clonal Expansion of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis. Mentored by Nicholas Leeper
    • Sophia Zhang, Biology. Modeling Cardiac Dysfunction Associated with Mutation in N-alpha-Acetyltransferase 10 (NAA10) in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes. Mentored by Joseph Wu
  • Biology Recipients 2017
    • Ryan Badiee, Biology. Engineering Bidirectional Regulation of Endogenous Genes. Mentored by Michael Lin
    • Kathryn Evans, Biology. Using Viral Tools to Dissect Neural Circuits: Exploring the Nigrostriatal and Claustrocingulate Pathways in Mice. Mentored by Karl Deisseroth
    • Andrea Fisher, Biology. Genomic Analysis of Southeast Asian and Sahul Ancestry. Mentored by Marcus Feldman and Richard Klein
    • Lydia Tam, Biology. Identifying the Cellular Origin and Enzymatic Mechanism of Activity-regulated Neuroligin-3 Secretion. Mentored by Michelle Monje-Deisseroth
    • Yuan Zhang, Biology. Bioactive Lipids Enhance Cardiomyocyte Differentiation from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Mentored by Sean Wu
  • Biology Recipients 2016
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Brian Do, “7SK RNA Regulates Gene Expression by Scaffolding Multiple Protein Complexes,” biology, advised by Howard Chang (dermatology) and Or Gozani (biology).
    • Christie Nguyen, “Recurrent Point Mutations in the Kinetochore Gene KNSTRN in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma,” biology, advised by Paul Khavari (dermatology) and Dominique Bergmann (biology).
    • Alyssa Noll, “Non-Cell Autonomous Effects in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma,” biology, advised by Michelle Monje (neurology) and Sue McConnell (biology).
    • Bhavenkumar Patel, “A Computational Pipeline to Uncover Genomic Regulatory Regions That Modulate the Wnt Signaling Pathway,” biology, advised by Rajat Rohatgi (biochemistry) and James Nelson (biology).
    • Nicole Urman, “SUFU and SMO Mutations in Hedgehog Signaling Drive Resistance Pathways in Basal Cell Carcinoma,” biology, advised by Anthony Oro (dermatology) and Tim Stearns (biology).
    • Jacob Winnikoff, “Extrinsic Stabilizers of Proteins: Their Roles in Acclimatizing to Fluctuating Temperatures in the Rocky Intertidal Environment,” biology, advised by George Somero (biology) and Craig Heller (biology).
    • Christine Yeh, “The Biomolecular Landscape of Obesity-Mediated Type II Diabetes: An Integrative Multi-Omics Study,” biology, advised by Michael Snydner (genetics), Michael Simon (biology) and Sharon Pitter (radiology).
  • Biology Recipients 2015
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Zoë Dubrow, “Multiple Xanthomonas euvesicatoria Type 3 Secretion Effectors Target 14-3-3 Mediated Immune Signaling in Tomato,” biology; advised by Mary Beth Mudgett, associate professor of biology.
    • Ritika Dutta, “Inhibition of the RSK-CREB Signaling Axis as a Therapeutic Strategy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia,” biology; advised by Kathleen Sakamoto, professor of pediatrics.
    • Candice Kim, “Characterization of the INO80 Subfamily of Chromatin Remodelers in Microtubule Dynamics in S. cerevisiae,” biology; advised by Ashby Morrison, assistant professor of biology.
    • Lila Neahring, “Structural Determinants of Smoothened Regulation in the Hedgehog Pathway,” biology; advised by Philip Beachy, professor of biochemistry.
    • Isabelle Neylan, “The Effects of Herbivory, Transgenerational Changes and Conspecific Communication on the Induced Defenses of Wild Radish,” biology; advised by Rodolfo Dirzo, professor of biology.​​​​​​​

 

Previous Firestone Medal winners

Graduate Awards

Frances Lou Kallman Award
This is awarded to a female graduate student in recognition of special excellence in coursework, teaching and/or research.
  • 2023 - Aurora Alvarez-Buylla & Pamela Rios Coronado
  • 2022 - Nicole Nova
  • 2021 - Kaitlin Ching
  • 2020 - Callie Chappell 
  • 2019 - Laura Bogar
  • 2018 - Natalie H. N. Low
  • 2017 - Hannah Kim Frank
  • 2016 - Pengpeng Li
  • 2015 - Rachel Egger
  • 2014 - Amanda Amodeo & Holly Moeller
  • 2013 - Chelsea L. Wood
  • 2012 - Kristy Jean Kroeker
Samuel Karlin Prize in Mathematical Biology
Given to the graduate student whose dissertation reaches the highest standard of Mathematical Biology, this award honors Professor Samuel Karlin of Stanford's Department of Mathematics.

In observance of his 70th birthday, his students produced a book on Mathematical Biology, and the royalties from that book accumulate to provide this prize.

 

  • 2023 - Kayla Denton
  • 2022 - Hao Shen
  • 2021 - Richard Grewelle 
  • 2019 - Rohan Mehta
  • 2018 - Alison Feder
  • 2017 - Amy Goldberg
  • 2016 - Michael "Doc" Edge
  • 2015 - Allison Rhines
  • 2014 - Ethan Jewett
  • 2013 - Julie Marie Granka
  • 2010 - Jeremy Van Cleve
Charles Yanofsky Prize in Molecular Biology
This goes to the most outstanding graduate student working in the field of molecular biology. It honors Professor Charles Yanofsky of the Department of Biology.
  • 2023 - Victor Naturale
  • 2022 - Giovanni Forcina
  • 2021 - Devin King
  • 2020 - Yanniv Dorone 
  • 2019 - Pin-Joe Ko
  • 2018 - Devon Chandler-Brown
  • 2017 - Katherine Solari
  • 2016 - Alex Wilkinson
  • 2015 - William Stork

Teaching Awards

Norman K. Wessells Award
This is awarded to an outstanding undergraduate or graduate course/teaching assistant.
  • 2023 - Sydney Nagy
  • 2022 - Weaverly Colleen Co  Lee
  • 2021 - Tyler McFadden
  • 2020 - Kaleda Denton
  • 2019 - Stephanie Caty
  • 2018 - Claire Baumer and Caroline Daws
  • 2017 - John Schroeder
  • 2016 - Devin King
  • 2015 - Alexis Mychajliw
  • 2013 - Jeremy Hsu
  • 2012 - Emily Abrash and Irene Onyeneho
  • 2011 - Matthew Leo Knope and Nina Ly
2023 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Aaron Behr
  • Nicholas Camacho
  • Rachel D'Agui
  • Tris Dodge
  • Mai Dvorak
  • Nadia Haghani
  • Janie Kim
  • Jordan McKinney
  • Desire Nalukwago
  • Andrea Nebhut
  • Meghan Nolan
  • Gabe Preising
  • Jonathan M. Tang
2022 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Kristen Anderson
  • Yasmeen AlSaif
  • Aurora Alvarez-Bullya
  • Mai Dvorak
  • Leonardi Gozali
  • Eric Liu
  • Lauren Lubeck
  • Steven Massa
  • Lindsey Meservey
  • Maike Morrison
  • Andrea Ramirez
2021 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Egor Alimpiev 
  • Ellie Armstrong
  • Shalmali Bane
  • Sani Eskinazi
  • Luisa Genes
  • Maurice Goodman
  • Billie Goolsby
  • Taylar Hammond
  • Christopher Knight
  • Julie Ko
  • Yash Pershad
  • Carin Ragland
  • Evan Saldivar
  • Daniel Shaykevich
  • Chris You
  • Junqin Zhu
2020 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Javier Blanco Portillo
  • Kaleda Denton 
  • Lindsay Filgas
  • Ben Moran
  • Veronica Pagowski
  • Emily Shuldiner
  • Brian Smith
  • Chris (Dong Shin) You
2019 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • David Armenta
  • Devin Bradburn
  • Stephanie Caty
  • Callie Chappell
  • Lisa Couper
  • Max Czapanskiy
  • Caroline Daws
  • Kaleda Denton
  • Anne Duncan
  • Emily Ebel
  • James Fahlbusch
  • Jessica Foret
  • Joel Francis
  • Hannah Fung
  • Maurice Goodman
  • Avery Hill
  • Kate Lagerstrom
  • Beth Morrison
  • Victor Naturale
  • Lucas Pavan
  • Anay Reddy
  • Gabriel Smith
  • Dirk Spencer
  • Magdalena Warren
  • Carl Wienecke
2018 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Aurora Alvarez-Buylla
  • David Armenta
  • Claire Baumer
  • Shi-An Chen
  • Kaitlin Ching
  • Glade Dlott
  • Raymond Futia
  • Richard Grewelle
  • Grant Kinsler
  • Michelle Pang
  • Anay Reddy
  • Gabriel Smith
  • Jeffrey Smith
  • Eirini Tsekitsidou
  • Mike Van
  • Ka Man Wong
  • Lucy Xu
  • Bright Zhou
2017 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Daniel Berenson
  • Allison Brown
  • Paul Bump
  • Julio Flores Servin
  • Giovanni Forcina
  • Naomi Genuth
  • Nicolas Herrera Crosta
  • Sean Hunter
  • Alex Lindqwister
  • Kelly Markle
  • Nicole Nova
  • Delaney Sullivan
  • Shizuka Yamada
2016 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Claire Baumer
  • Laura Bogar
  • Haley Brogan
  • Kaitlin Ching
  • Rachel Crane
  • Glade Dlott
  • Emily Ebel
  • Shein Ei Cho
  • Yan Gong
  • Fiorella Grandi
  • Laura Hunter
  • Alex Lindqwister
  • Sarah Lindsay
  • Vincent Masto
  • Ying Sun
2015 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Hokyung "Kay" Chung
  • Emily Ebel
  • Alison Feder
  • Daniel Friedman
  • Naomi Genuth
  • Emily Glassberg
  • Laura Hunter
  • Rohan Mehta
  • Beth Morrison
  • Alexis Mychajliw
  • Taylor Skokan
2014 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Nathan Barnett
  • Sean Beckwith
  • Devon Chandler-Brown
  • Jae Chung
  • Elizabeth Freeman
  • Jonathan Kang
  • Rick Kim
  • Jessica Martin
  • Rachel Pedreira
  • Elan Portner
  • Neil Robbins
  • Ben Seligman
  • Laughing Bear Torrez Dulgeroff
  • Brad Turnwald
  • Mark Wieland
2013 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Biafra Ahanonu
  • Sean Beckwith
  • Tamaki Bieri
  • Jae Chung
  • David Constant
  • Olga Cormier
  • Hannah Frank
  • Rajiv McCoy
  • Juliana Matos
2012 Excellence in Teaching Awards
These are awarded to superb undergraduate and graduate course/teaching assistants.
  • Cecil Benitez
  • Michael Bramson
  • David Constant
  • Jeremy Hsu
  • Lisa Kurtz
  • Diana LaScala-Gruenewald
  • Heather Machado
  • Trevor Martin
  • Rajiv McCoy
  • Michael McLaren
  • William Stork
  • Brandon Weissbourd
  • William White